Electric switch.



N0 MODEL.

PATENTED SEPT. 22, 1903. J. HARISBERGER.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 26, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

NO MODEL.

PATENTED SEPT. 22, 1903.

J. HARISBERGER.

ELECTRIC SWITCH,

APPLICATION TILED JAN. 26,1903.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

LVU'M was m5 "aims PEYCRS cu, PKQTO-LlTHO.-WASHINGTUN, a. c,

' I Home Patented September 22, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN HARISBERGER, OF SEATTLE, \VASHINGTON.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,672, dated September 22, 1903. Application filed January 26, 1908. Serial No. 140,534. (No model.)

To all 1072,0772, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN HARISBERGER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washing. ton, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in electric switches, and particularly to that class of switches which is adapted for use in the making and breaking of currents of high .tension and which for that purpose is so arranged that the contact-points are immersed in oil of a suitable character for preventing the formation of arcs.

It consists in a switch comprising means for holding the poles or termini of electric conductors at suitable distances from each other, a connecting-bridge for electrically joining them, and means for interposing a non-conductingmaterial between the separated contacts when the current is broken to prevent the possibility of the passage of currents of any tension.

It also consists in a switch mechanism provided with insulating means for holding the conductors which are to be connected a suitabledistance apart, reciprocating means for moving a bridging-contact into and out of engagement with said conductors, rotating nonconductors for inclosing the ends of the conductors, and means operating in conjunction with the bridge-carrying mechanism for r0- tating said non-conductorsin accordance with the movement of said bridge.

It also consists in certain other novel constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a group of switches, some of the parts being shown in section to reveal the internal operations thereof. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse cross-section through one of said switch mechanisms. Fig. 3 is a detail view, partially in elevation and partiallyin section, of one of the rotating insulating-cups. Fig. 4 is a' detail sectional view through one'of the switches, showing the ro- 'ductors which carry the current.

tating non-conducting cup in position with relation to the bridging-conductor when the current through the switch is broken.

The switch forming the subject-matter of this application is so designed that the parts for making and breaking the current operate in oil of a suitable character to prevent the formation of arcs between the contact-points, and as a further safeguard against said areing tendency movable non-conductors are employed, which are brought between the conductors when they are separated, so as to lie within the direct line between said conductors, and therefore absolutely prevent the passage of a current, no matter what its tension.

In setting forth the invention I will describe the same in connection with the drawings submitted herewith, which illustrate an improved form of switch mechanism in which the conductors 1 are mounted in brackets or blocks 2 of insulating material, preferably porcelain. These conductors 1 are preferably pole-pieces in the form of copper rods, which extend through the porcelain brackets 2, their inner ends being provided with enlarged copper head portions 3, carrying bifurcated contact-receiving pieces 4. The outer ends of the said rods 1 are provided with any suitable binding means, such as nuts, for securing the said rods to the con- The portions of the porcelain brackets 2 which carry the rods 1 extend a suitable distance each side of the body portion of said blocks, so that the inner ends of the said contact-rods project a suitable distance into a closure or box 5, the side walls of which are formed by the said porcelain brackets or blocks 2. The other walls of the closure are'also preferably formed of insulating material, and a suitable space is left between the inner ends of the contacts '1 for the insertion of a bridgingcontact, as 6. This bridging-contact consists, preferably, of a copper rod, the ends of which extend to points opposite the ends of the conductor-contacts 1. To the ends of this rod or bar 6 are secured upwardly-extending tongues, preferably of copper, as 7, which are in the form of flat bars adapted to extend into the bifurcated portions of the contactpieces 4: at the inner ends of the conductors 1.

When these tongues are thus in engagement with the bifurcated pieces 4, the conductors 1 are bridged, so that the current may pass through the bar 6 from one conductor to the other. The bridging-conductor 6, however, may be moved away from the contact-pieces 4, so as to break the said current, and for this purpose the said bridging-conductor is arranged to move in guiding-slots 8, formed in parallel partitions or plates 9, which extend through the central portion of the closure 5 and from the bottom thereof upwardly through the top wall of said closure a suitable distance above the same, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Between the said partitions 9, near their upper ends, is pivotally mounted a lever-block or bell-crank, as 10, formed with arms 11 and 12 and an actuating portion 13. The bell-crank 10 is mounted upon a suitable shaft, as 14, which is journaled in the opposing partitions or walls 9, and one end of said shaft 14 may project beyond one of said walls a sufficient distance to be squared, so that a crank-lever or other means may be applied thereto for turning the said shaft 14, thereby rocking or oscillating the bell-crank 10. One of the arms of the said crank 10, 11, is connected by means of a pitman 15 with the bridging-bar 6, preferably at the central portion of the latter. It will thus be seen that by moving the bell-crank 10 upon its pivot the bridging-contact 6 may be raised and lowered in its guiding-slots 8 for making or breaking the circuit between the conductors 1.

Journaled in the walls of partitions 9 just above the inner ends of the conductors 1 is a shaft 16, which is provided with a crank 17 at its central portion, the said crank operating between the partitions 9. This crank is connected by means of a pitman 18 with the arm 12 of the bell-crank 10, so that when the said bell-crank is moved the crank 17 will becorrespondingly moved to rotate the shaft 16. The ends of the shaft 16 project through the partitions 9 into the closure 5 a suitable distance to carry rotating non-conductors, as 19. These non-conductors are preferably in the form of cups, of porcelain or other non-conducting material, having central hub portions 20, which are slipped upon the ends of the shaft 16 and secured thereto by screws or other suitable means, so as to turn with the said shaft. The flanges of the cups 19 are of suitable Width to extend nearly to the body portions of the porcelain wall-brackets 2, as clearly shown inFig. 2 of the drawings. The cups thus inelose almost the whole of the inner ends of the conductors 1 between the inwardly-projecting porcelain brackets carrying the same. Each of the cups 19 is formed with an elongated slot 21, arranged opposite to the ends of the conductors and so positioned that when the cups are suitably turned the tongues 7 may be passed through the said slots to engage the contact-pieces 4. The relation of the crank 17 to the bell-crank 10 and of the arm 11 to the arm 12 is such that when the bell crank 10 is so turned that the bridging-contact 6 is moved away from the conductors the cups 19 will be rotated to move the slots 21 out of line with the tongues 7 and the contact-pieces, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. In this manner the Wall of insulating material will be moved between the contact-pieces 4 and the bridging-contact and its tongues when the current is broken, so that the chanceof the current passing from one to the other through the oil in the receptacle 5 is materially lessened. When the circuit is to be made, the bell-crank 10 is turned, which operates to rotate the cups 19, so as to bring the slots 21 again between the contactpieces 4 and the tongues 7 to permit the said tongues to be raised by the pitman 15 into engagement with said contact pieces, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It is important to note that the arm 12 of the bell-crank lever 10 is so positioned that it may be moved some distance before operating to turn the nonconducting cups to any appreciable degree, thus giving the arm 11 ample time to move the bridging-conductor 6, with its tongues 7, out of reach of the said cups when they are finally turned by the movement of said arm 12. The slots 21 are made of corresponding length, so that they will not come in contact with the tongues 7 in the movements of the various parts.

The invention may be applied to a single switch or may be applied to a group of switches, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, each switch being constructed in the manner above described. This is valuable where several conductors or wires are to be connected in multiple. WVhen a group of such switches are to be operated at the same time, they may be connected, as shown in Fig. 1, by a bar 22, which bar is connected with the bell-crank 10 of each switch mechanism at the outer end of its actuating portion 13. Thus by moving any one of the shafts 14 all of the switches will be operated simultaneously through the agency of the connecting-bar 22.

It will be observed that the parts of this switch are quite simple and yet that in addition to the precaution of placing the contacts in a suitable oil for preventing the formation of arcs there is also means for interposing a non-conducting material in the path which the current would take in passing directly from one conductor to the other.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A switch mechanism comprising fixed terminals of conductors, insulators inclosing said terminals, the said insulators being provided with fixed openings, means for turning the insulators about the fixed terminals to permit of the making of a contact with said terminals and a bridging-conductor for connecting the said terminals.

2. A switch mechanism comprising fixed terminals, rotating terminal-inclosing insulators formed with openings at one point in their Walls, a bridging-contact for engaging the terminals and electrically connecting them, and means for rotating the insulators around the terminals in correspondence with the movement of the bridging-contact to bring the openings of the said insulators opposite said contacts when the connection is to be made. i

3. A switch mechanism comprising oppositely-arranged terminals projecting toward each other, insulators opening in opposite directionsinclosingthe said terminals,abridging-con tact for connecting the terminals, and mechanism operated in conjuction with the movement of the bridging-contact for so moving the insulators about the terminals that such contact may be made.

at. A switch mechanism comprising fixed conductor-terminals, revoluble cup-shaped insulators extending around the ends of said terminals so as to inclose them, the said cupinsulators having slots in their side walls, a bridging-contact for connecting the terminals, means connected with the bridging-contact for rotating the cups about the terminals so as to bring the slots opposite the contact-points when the same are to engage the terminals, substantially as described.

5. A switch mechanism comprising oppositely-arranged conductor-terminals, a shaft mounted near the said terminals, insulatorcups carried upon the opposite ends of said shaft and inclosing the terminals, the said cups being provided with slots in their peripheral walls, a bridging-contact for connecting the terminals, the said contact projecting through the slots to reach the terminals, substantially as described. 7

6. An electric switch mechanism, comprising walls of non-conducting material forming part of an oil-containing closure, end pieces of conductors projecting into said closure, a bridging-contact moving in said closure, partitions having guiding-siots formed therein for directing the movement of said bridgingcontact, a shaft also mounted in said partitions and projecting beyond the same, moving non-conductors carried by said shaft and inclosing the ends'of the said conductors,

said non-conductors having slots for permitting the bridging-conductor to engage the said conductors, a bell-crank carried by the said partitions, and means connecting the said bell-crank with the bridging-conductor and with the movable non-conductors so that when the bridging-conductor is moved for breaking the circuit the non-conductors will be moved between thesaid bridging-conductor and the other conductors, substantially as described.

'7. An electric switch mechanism, comprising insulating means for carrying the ends of the conductors of the electric current, a 010- r point of the bell-crank and the connectingpoint of the pitman with the said shaft-crank so as not to move the insulating-cups materially until the bridging-contact has been moved out of contact with the conductors, substantially as described.

8. An electric switch mechanism, comprising a series of conductors mounted in oilwells, a series of bridging-contacts for connecting the same, a series of rotating insulating-cups for inclosing the said conductors, a

series of bell-cranks for operating said bridging-contacts and insulating-cups, and means for connecting all of said bell-cranks so that when one is operated, the others will be actuated simultaneously for making or breaking circuits of high tension through the said conductors, substantially as described.

9. An electric switch mechanism, comprising insulating means for supporting conductors, conductors mounted therein, bifurcated contact-pieces at the inner ends of said conductors, a bridging-contact carrying contacttongucs at its ends for engaging said bifurcated contacts, rotating cups of insulating material inclosing theends of said conductors and moving independently thereof for closing the bifurcations of the conductors, the said cups being provided with slots for permitting the passage of the said tongues to the bifurcated contacts, and means for moving the bridging-contact in conjunction with the rotation of the said cups so that when the contacts are separated, the slotted wall portions of the cups will be out of position between the contacts, substantially as described.

10. A switch mechanism comprising a fixed terminal having a contact-receiving opening, a revol uble inclosin g insulator extending over and nearly surrounding the said terminal and normally covering said opening, means for rotating the insulator to permit access to the opening, a contact-piece arranged to engage said opening and means for operating the contact-piece in conjunction with the revoluble insulator.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN HARISBERGER.

Witnesses:

G. WARD KEMP, J. M. LOBAUGH. 

